Boxed In
by shadowsofourdeepestmind
Summary: A little oneshot based on a prompt a friend gave me a while back. "There's a box. Thor thinks its contents are hilarious. Loki does not."


He really should have known better. When Thor shows up outside one's door holding an ornately gilded box and grinning his oafish face off, one should suspect that the poor fool has managed to work his brain up to attempting a "trick" and probably injured himself in the process. Loki's mind wasn't working quite as well as it should have been in the moment, mostly because he'd been working on little sleep and less food for a few days perfecting his teleportation spell. He'd opened the door for his brother and lit the candles with a wave of his hand, slicked his messy hair with another, and sat down on the edge of the bed with his usual air of "what is it now, brother, you know I'm busy" and a little bit of "you meddlesome oaf" and "I'm going to enjoy making you cross today."

"What are you working on, brother?" was what Thor led with. That should have been another warning sign. Thor never started with interest in Loki's work, only got there after Loki verbally pointed out that he was busy.

"Casting fire and teleportation simultaneously. I'm planning a show at my coming-of-age celebration that even you'll enjoy." Loki's mischievous smile was a warning sign of a different kind. It promised that whatever was to come would require him to soundproof a room while he howled with laughter and probably wasn't funny to anyone else. Thor simply hummed with approval, too focused on the box in his hands. So was Loki. Was that what he thought it was?

"I have brought a gift for you, brother!" Thor had announced triumphantly. Loki feigned indifference.

"Treasure from your latest conquest, perhaps? The scales of a fire-drake? Teeth from an ice warg? You know Father doesn't approve of us going to Jotunheim. Though they have been seen in Nifleheim..." Thor knew Loki was teasing him by driving the conversation away from the actual contents of the box. Loki was legitimately curious, though. The wards on the chest spoke of an object of unspeakable power, the likes of which Thor shouldn't have been able to acquire except from Odin's vault. His magic pricked him, sensing the power inside the box. Whatever it was, it was certainly highly magical. Could it be that Thor was giving him an object of rare power to complement his skill set, akin to the hammer their father had given the thunderer for his coming-of-age? An artifact that would make him the most skilled battle-mage in Asgard, not another of the swords he wasn't quick enough with, the axes that were too heavy for him, the shields he wasn't supposed to need? Not another book accompanied by derision, "you read too much, brother," "a container for all of your knowledge, brother," "you should get more sun, brother." Thor handed him the box.

Expectation shone in Loki's eyes as he took hold of the enchanted casket. When his fingers brushed over the frontispiece it opened in response to his magic. He slowly lifted the lid to reveal... a flat square. His unimpressed look must have been obvious even to Thor. "It is a puzzle, brother. You must discover what to do with it!" Loki wondered if his brother had thought of this idea all on his own. Didn't seem like the Thor he knew would think to bring him something he was *supposed* to think about. He probed the object with first his fingers, and then when that failed, his magic. He felt a shift in the aura of the thing he held. He changed the angle slightly, getting a better response to his efforts.

He moved to stand near the largest candle in an effort to better light his investigation. If he'd been paying attention, he would have seen Thor shifting on the bed with glee. One more poke, there it was! The flat square unfolded, growing larger until it took the shape of a bone-white cage completely entrapping the trickster. It took a moment for Loki's tired brain to figure out what had occurred, but when it did, he was furious.

"THOR!" He screeched, flinging a sizzling hot bolt of magic at the thunderer's fleeing backside. "I SWEAR TO THE NORNS YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS! YOUR CAPES WILL BE YELLOW! YOUR BED WILL BE INFESTED WITH VIPERS! YOUR ARMOUR WILL BE MELTED AS IF WITH THE BREATH OF A FIRE-DRAKE! YOU'LL TASTE SARMWORT IN YOUR EVERY MEAL! THOR? GET ME OUT OF HERE! THOR!"

The elder prince's laughter rang through the golden halls. He'd free Loki once the trickster's anger had cooled a bit. Or maybe a lot.

 _ **Fin**_


End file.
